Sydney, Australia (AFP) — Olympian Heath Ryan has been suspended by an “extremely alarmed” Equestrian Australia after a video showed him whipping a horse more than 40 times.

The 66-year-old, who represented Australia in dressage at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, said in a statement he had been acting in the animal’s “best interests”.

The video, originally shared to US-based Facebook account Dressage Hub, showed him striking the stallion repeatedly, with a narrator saying the horse was “traumatised in every state”.

Equestrian Australia said it was “extremely alarmed and concerned”.

“Equestrian Australia has imposed a provisional suspension of this person’s membership of Equestrian Australia and their rights, privileges, and benefits associated with their membership,” it added.

The ban will remain in place pending an investigation by its integrity unit.

Ryan, a former three-time Australian three-day-event champion, defended his actions, saying it had been a “life or death moment” for the horse, named Nico.

He said the six-year-old had always been a “problem child” and was destined for the knackery after an incident with a family friend that left her in intensive care.

“I felt obliged to the horse to just have a look and see if it was possibly salvageable,” he said.

“That video was a life or death moment for Nico, and I genuinely had to try my very hardest to see if Nico would consider other options.

“All of this transpired sincerely with the horse’s best interests the sole consideration. Unbelievably, it was so successful for everyone except me with the release of this video.”

He claimed the video was two years old and posted by a disgruntled ex-employee, with Nico now thriving in a new home.

Three-time Olympic dressage gold medallist Charlotte Dujardin missed the Paris Games last year following a different horse-whipping controversy.

The British rider was banned just days before the start of the Olympics after a video emerged showing her repeatedly striking a horse on its legs.